The invention relates to a separation type air conditioner, and particularly to the indoor unit of the separation type air conditioner and its installation method.
The separation type air conditioner now available generally consists of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, the indoor unit generally comprises such components as an evaporator; a cross flow fan disposed behind the evaporator; a water tray disposed below the evaporator; a panel and control means. The panel is provided with a longitudinally extending air inlet at its central portion in a vertical direction and an air outlet at its the lower edge. With a cross flow fan, such indoor unit has a large volume. When in use, the indoor unit is integrally suspended on an indoor wall and will take up plenty of indoor space due to its larger volume. Afterwards, it is contemplated to replace the cross flow fan with a centrifugal one to reduce the volume of the indoor unit. However, such an indoor unit is also integrally suspended on an indoor wall, and will still take up a relatively large indoor space, as a result the aim to reduce the indoor space taken up by the indoor unit is not achieved. For some applications, particularly in the case that the indoor unit has to be installed at a lower part of an indoor wall, it becomes particularly important to reduce the space taken up by the indoor unit. In addition, these two types of separation type air conditioners are mounted with the refrigerant tube connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit being exposed in the room, thus presenting an unpleasant appearance.
The object of the invention is to provide a separation type air conditioner and its installation method. The construction of the indoor unit in accordance with the invention makes it possible to install the indoor unit in a wall opening formed in the wall, and the refrigerant tube connecting the indoor and the outdoor units may lead to the outdoor unit through the wall opening, thus effectively reducing the space taken up and presenting a beautiful appearance at low cost.
To achieve the above object, there is provided a separation type air conditioner, comprising an indoor unit, an outdoor unit and a refrigerant tube connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit; the indoor unit comprising:
an evaporator,
a centrifugal fan disposed behind the evaporator, the centrifugal fan being placed immediately adjacent to the evaporator;
a motor mounted at the center of the centrifugal fan;
and a water tray disposed below the evaporator; the indoor unit being composed of a housing and a panel, the panel abutting against a wall and being operationally connected with the housing when in use, the housing being adapted to be inserted into an opening formed in the wall; the centrifugal fan and motor being installed in the housing in a plane parallel to the wall, the size of the panel being larger than that of the portion of the housing to be inserted into the wall opening, and the panel being so sized as to cover the wall opening, and at the central portion of the panel there being provided an air inlet and at the peripheral portion of the panel there being provided an air outlet.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an installation method of a separation type air conditioner, the air conditioner comprising an indoor unit, an outdoor unit and a refrigerant tube connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit; the indoor unit comprising:
an evaporator,
a centrifugal fan disposed behind the evaporator, the centrifugal fan being placed immediately adjacent to the evaporator;
a motor mounted at the center of the centrifugal fan;
and a water tray disposed below the evaporator;
the method including the steps of: providing an indoor unit, the indoor unit being composed of a housing and a panel,the housing being adapted to be inserted into an opening formed in the wall; the centrifugal fan and motor being installed in the housing in a plane parallel to the wall, the size of the panel being larger than that of the portion of the housing to be inserted into the wall opening, and at
the central portion of the panel there being provided an air inlet and at the peripheral portion of the panel there being provided an air outlet;
forming an opening in a wall, the shape of the opening matching with that of the portion of housing to be inserted into the wall opening;
inserting the housing into the opening;
putting the panel on the wall and operationally connecting the panel with the housing to cover the opening.
Preferably, the refrigerant tube connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit leads to the outdoor unit through the wall opening.
Preferably, the wall opening is closed on the outdoor side, the outdoor unit is supported by a supporting frame mounted on an outdoor wall.
Preferably, the wall opening is a through hole formed in the wall, the outdoor unit is supported by a supporting structure on the outdoor wall, and the end of the outdoor unit facing indoors is inside the wall opening. A noise and thermal insulating material is provided between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.
With the separation type air conditioner of the invention, there is no need for a separate installation space, the indoor unit is installed in a wall opening formed in the wall, and looks almost flush with the wall after installation to thereby reduce the indoor space taken up; the refrigerant tube connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit leads to the outdoor unit through the wall opening, therefore the refrigerant tube is concealed in the wall body to present a beautiful appearance. A noise and thermal insulating layer can be disposed between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit to isolate the noise generated by the outdoor unit so as to reduce the noise in the room. The implementation of the invention does not require a significant modification of the outdoor unit as to its design and manufacture.